School of Health Sciences

Introduction

The emphasis of the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) is to prepare competent entry-level practitioners who are well prepared to meet the demands of the current health care arena. The DPT degree emphasizes advanced skills in medical screening, differential diagnosis, critical thinking and clinical reasoning, and will arm students with an evidence base that validates clinical decisions to support the level of independent practice expected in a direct access environment. The DPT, a clinical doctorate, is differentiated from a Ph.D. by its emphasis on clinical skills and practice issues. However, it is expected that students will develop research skills related to being prepared to be criticial consumers of the scientific literature, to support clinical research and to use research data to design and manage the processes of care. In addition, all students complete a clinical case report as a research capstone project of the curriculum. The DPT program is fully accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education.

Faculty Research

Cleveland State University faculty have research specializations in biomechanics, culture and health, health services research, epidemiology, exercise physiology, motor learning and control, motor behavior, neurologic and musculoskeletal disorders, among others. State-of-the-art Motion Analysis, Motor Behavior and Go Baby Go laboratories are available for research. Students in the program have an opportunity to work on research with faculty mentors.

Admission Information

Admission to the program is selective and limited. Admissions are conducted yearly; each admissions cycle begins in July with complete application files due by February 15 annually. In addition to meeting College of Graduate Studies requirements for admission, applicants to the program must:

Submit an application through the Physical Therapy Centralized Application Service (PTCAS).

Take the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) and have scores submitted to PTCAS, with a probable cut-off point for admission to the DPT Program per the following: Combined minimum score on the GRE of 290-296 (quantitative 144-146; verbal 146-150) and a 4.0/6.0 on the analytical writing section.

Attain the minimum of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university in any subject area.

Attain a minimum grade point average overall of 3.00

The following 5 prerequisite courses must be completed with a B grade or better: